Public restrooms are generally found in a condition in which the general public cannot depend upon the cleanliness of the facility. This is particularly true for portable bathroom facilities utilized at campgrounds or during outdoor events, as well as other situations where a large number of people are expected to use the facility and routine cleaning of the facility does not take place.
Public restrooms that employ conventional toilet bowls often supply paper toilet seat covers that a user may employ to avoid direct contact with the conventional toilet seat. However, if the conventional toilet seat is wet, the paper toilet seat covers offer minimal protection against contamination.
In some circumstances, such as during outdoor events or in remote areas including campgrounds and the like, the only bathroom facility available for use comprises a portable restroom facility in which a conventional toilet seat is mounted directly upon a waste holding tank. These types of facilities are often extremely unsanitary and the paper linings described above would not insulate the user from contamination of the surface of the waste holding tank as the paper linings are only designed to cover the toilet seat mounted on the tank. This is particularly true for users of large stature for whom which bodily contact with the surface of the holding tank may be unavoidable.
The prior art offers several attempts to overcome problems associated with the unsanitary conditions of public restroom facilities employing conventional toilet bowls and seats, however, most of the prior art only disclose seats that must make some type of contact with the seat provided by the public facility. While these types of portable seats insulate the user's body from direct bodily contact with an unsanitary surface, contamination of the portable seat cannot be avoided. Prior art portable seats that are self-supporting and do not make contact with the conventional seat provided by the public facility may prevent contamination of the portable seat, but they are not adaptable for use in portable bathroom facilities in which the conventional seat is mounted directly on a waste holding tank. Further, the support mechanisms of the prior art portable seats do not offer stable support for use in these types of portable bathroom facilities, particularly for users of large stature.
Additionally, the portable bathroom facilities described above are often not equipped with appropriate handrails to aid a handicapped user. In this instance, a handicapped user would be forced to use the potentially contaminated surface of the waste holding tank in order to secure a position upon the conventional toilet seat of the portable bathroom facility. Prior art portable seats do not address this concern.
Accordingly, one preferred embodiment of a portable lavatory apparatus for use in conjunction with public restroom facilities is provided comprising, generally, a planar member having an opening and a top and bottom surface, a plurality of telescoping support members extending from the bottom surface of the planar member, each having a pair of non-skid footings. The non-skid footings are oriented in such a way as to allow the first non-skid footing to engage the floor of a public restroom facility when the telescoping support members are in the open position and the apparatus is used in conjunction with a conventional toilet bowl and to allow the second non-skid footing to engage the surface of the waste holding tank when the telescoping support members are in the closed position and the apparatus is used in conjunction with a portable bathroom facility.
Another preferred embodiment of a portable lavatory apparatus is provided comprising, generally, a planar member having an opening and a top and bottom surface, a plurality of telescoping support members extending from the bottom surface of the planar member, each having a non-skid footing for engagement with the floor of a public restroom facility when the telescoping support members are in the open position, and a plurality of interchangeable, disposable support members, also extending down from the bottom surface of the planar member, for engagement with the surface of a waste holding tank when the apparatus is used in conjunction with a portable restroom facility.
The planar member of the present invention may be foldable in addition to the collapsible telescoping support members, thus enhancing portability. The portable lavatory apparatus may include a permanently installed or removable seat cushion, and a locking mechanism to prevent inadvertent folding of the planar member. Handrails may be installed on the top surface of the planar member for use of the apparatus by handicapped individuals. Finally, a biodegradable waste containing splashguard may be employed to prevent user contact with contaminated waste water within a conventional toilet or waste holding tank.